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QMI Agency

Nov 24, 2013

, Last Updated: 11:03 AM ET

MONTREAL - Isabelle Peladeau, the sister of Pierre Karl Peladeau, the former president and CEO of media giant Quebecor, died in a car accident north of Montreal Saturday night, Quebecor Media confirmed Sunday morning.

She was 55.

Provincial police said Peladeau wasn't able to escape from a car that had slid into the icy waters of Achigan Lake, in Saint-Hippolyte, Que., about 77 km north of Montreal.

"The slope of the road (that led to the lake) was frozen and the driver didn't stop in time. The vehicle fell into the lake," provincial police Sgt. Claude Denis said.

Isabelle Peladeau leaves behind two sons, Felix and Alexis, as well as her husband Roger Humbert.

Quebecor, the parent company of QMI Agency and Sun Media, said in a statement that "the family will not make a public announcement for the moment and will release funeral arrangements in the following days."

Like her father Pierre, Isabelle Peladeau was heavily involved in the media industry. When she was 20 years old, she founded and managed Filles d'aujourd'hui, the first magazine aimed at adolescent Quebec women.

After several years working in journalism and in public relations, Peladeau returned to the family business and served as vice-president for the magazine section of Quebecor from 1994 and 2000. During that time, she managed several high-profile Quebec magazines including Clin d'oeuil.

In 2005, she published a book titled Word of mouth in which she disclosed the addresses of 70 Quebec celebrities.